Key Points
- BUA Group Chairman Abdul Samad Rabiu and UBA Chairman Tony Elumelu have reaffirmed a nearly three-decade strategic partnership to drive Nigeria’s industrial expansion.
- BUA Foods PLC reported a stellar 2025 financial performance, with revenue climbing 16 per cent to N1.77 trillion.
- The food conglomerate’s profit after tax surged by 95 per cent to N518.4 billion, leading to a proposed dividend of N28 per share.
- The partnership focus remains on long-term capital for large-scale manufacturing, domestic production, and export-oriented value chains.
Main Story
Abdul Samad Rabiu, Chairman of BUA Group, has reaffirmed the conglomerate’s long-standing partnership with United Bank for Africa (UBA), describing it as a critical engine for industrial expansion and economic growth.
Speaking while hosting UBA Chairman Tony Elumelu and his executive team at the BUA headquarters in Lagos on Tuesday, Rabiu noted that the relationship has evolved over nearly 30 years—dating back to the era of Standard Trust Bank—into a collaboration focused on long-term value creation rather than mere transactions.
In response, Elumelu described BUA Group as a model of disciplined execution and industrial scale.
He pledged UBA’s continued support for transformative enterprises, stating that the bank’s role is to provide the long-term capital necessary for businesses to reshape the Nigerian economy.
The discussions reportedly centered on expanding financing frameworks to boost domestic manufacturing and support value chains aimed at the export market.
The news of the strengthened partnership coincides with the release of BUA Foods’ 2025 financial results, which showed a 16 per cent revenue increase to N1.77 trillion.
The company’s profit after tax saw a massive 95 per cent jump to N518.4 billion, up from the previous year. Consequently, the board has proposed a dividend of N28 per share, representing a 115 per cent increase from the N13 paid in 2024.
The Issues
The primary challenge for large-scale indigenous firms like BUA is the “Capital Intensity” of industrial expansion in a volatile macroeconomic environment. While BUA Foods has shown record profitability, the cost of sales remains high at N1.037 trillion, reflecting the inflationary pressures on raw materials and supply chain logistics. Sustaining this growth requires deep-pocketed financial partners like UBA to provide stable, long-term credit facilities that can weather currency fluctuations and support the massive infrastructure required for sugar, flour, and pasta production at scale.
What’s Being Said
- Abdul Samad Rabiu emphasised that “enduring partnerships are not built on transactions, but on conviction,” reflecting a shared vision for Nigeria’s development.
- Tony Elumelu reaffirmed UBA’s commitment, noting that “our role is to enable scale by providing long-term capital to businesses reshaping the Nigerian economy.”
- Ayodele Abioye, Managing Director of BUA Foods, attributed the success to “disciplined growth” and expressed confidence that strong demand for staples like rice and flour would support “sustained growth in the coming years.”
- Analysts noted that the N504 billion total dividend payout, if approved, would be one of the largest in the history of the Nigerian Exchange (NGX).
What’s Next
- BUA Foods is expected to move forward with its capacity expansion strategies, specifically targeting the optimization of its supply chain to meet rising domestic demand.
- Shareholders are set to vote on the proposed N28 dividend at the upcoming Annual General Meeting (AGM).
- The partnership between BUA and UBA is likely to yield new financing frameworks specifically tailored for large-scale manufacturing and export-oriented projects.
- Market observers will be monitoring BUA’s total assets, which rose 27 per cent to N1.39 trillion, to see how the group leverages its balance sheet for further industrial acquisitions or greenfield projects.
Bottom Line
The synergy between BUA’s industrial execution and UBA’s financial scale has created a formidable force in the Nigerian economy. With BUA Foods now crossing the N1.7 trillion revenue mark, the partnership serves as a blueprint for how indigenous capital and industrial vision can collaborate to drive national self-sufficiency.
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